Coin controlled apparatus



April 21, 1953 Filed April 12, 1945 H. J. DOLMAN COIN CONTROLLEDAPPARATUS 5 She'ts-Sheet 1 Inventor AQIr'zi; 1953 Filed April 12, 1945J. DOLMA-N 2,635,731

COIN CONTROLLED APPARATUS 5 Sheeis-Sheet 2 F/GZ Ill

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COIN CONTROLLED APPARATUS Filed April 12, 1945 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 32INVENTOR 58 ar/.7200:

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Patented Apr. 21, 1953 2.635.731 com CONTROLLED APPARATUS Henry JamesDolman, Staple Hill, Bristol, England, assignor to Brecknell, Munro &Rogers Limited, Bristol, England, a British company Application April12, 1945, Serial No. 587,847 In Great Britain April 19, 1944 3 Claims.

1 This invention relates to coin controlled apparatus of the typecomprising a totaliser that is displaced from its initial position to anextent dependent on the value of an inserted coin or coins, saiddisplacement acting to unlock a manually operable article deliverymechanism, when the proper money has been inserted.

In such a device it sometimes happens that the intended transactioncannot be completed, and it is the object of the present invention toprovide, in such case, for the recovery of the inserted coins on thenormal manipulation of the apparatus by the purchaser.

One form of coin controlled apparatus in accordance with the presentinvention is diagrammatically indicated in the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a view of the apparatus taken from the opposite side to thatshown in Fig. 1, but with certain parts omitted for clearness.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the apparatus (looking from the right of Fig.2) with certain parts omitted including the upper portion of the coinhopper, and coin chutes and associated parts.

Fig. 4 is a plan on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, partly broken away, and withthe solenoid 51 omitted.

Fig. 6 is a pictorial diagrammatic view showing the apparatus and itselectric circuits.

The apparatus shown is part of a coin controlled vending machine of thetype that includes a totaliser controlling the availability of manuallyoperable drawers 32 for the delivery of the It comprises coin chutes I,2, 3, 4, 5 wherein the inserted coins are caused to actuate thetotaliser. These coin chutes lead from the front casing of the machineto a coin hopper 6. In the drawings the drawers are shown in their fullyretracted positions.

Referring particularly to Fig. 6, the chute I includes a switch Ia,chute 2 includes switches 2a and 2b, chute 3 includes a switch 3a, chute4 includes switches 4a and 4b, and chute 5 includes switches 5a, 5b, 5cand 5d. Where more than one switch is included in a chute the two ormore switches are connected in parallel. The switches are adapted to beclosed by the passage of a coin or coins through the chute or chutesconcerned, and the electric circuits thereby closed act to energizeelectric solenoids which in turn act to displace the totaliser,diagrammatically indicated by 86. In the arrangement illustratedparallel-connected switches Ia, 2a and 2b are 2 1 series with solenoidI02 of totaliser 86 (see Fig. 6), said solenoid I 02 being alsoconnected to supply main 8. Similarly switches 3a, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 5cand 5d are in parallel connection, are connected to supply main I andalso in series with solenoid II of totaliser 86, said solenoid IiIIbeing also connected to supply main 8. The totaliser 86 is fullydescribed in the specification of my co-pending United Statesapplication Serial No. 585,623, filed March 30,1945, now Patent No.2,615,545, and in the specification of British Patent No. 578,158, filedMarch 29, 1944. In Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings only theessential parts of the totaliser 86 are shown, the parts numbered IBI,I02, I09, H3, H6, I25, I30, I33, I44, I53, I68, I'II, I13, I8I, I90,I93, I91, 225, and 86 correspondingto the parts numbered I, 2, 9, I3,It, 25, :30, 33, 44, 53, 68, II, 13, 8|, 90, 93, 91, I25 and H6respectively in the drawings of the two specifications referred to.

The hopper 6 is sloped (see Fig. 3) to direct coins towards a centraltube portion I0, constituting a coin receptacle, which is open at thebottom. A sector shaped element II (see Fig. 1) is secured to an axleI2, said axle being free to pivot in bearings I6, I! provided in acasing I8. The element II lies below the coin receptacle I0 and islocated so that its upper arcuate surface I3 provides a bottom or basefor the said coin receptacle III, while its slant surfaces I4, I5provide deflecting elements as will be hereinafter described. V

Externally of the casing I8 and in front thereof as seen in Fig. l, theaxle I2 carries a pair of horizontally disposed arms I9, 20 and avertical arm 2|, and it will be seen that any downward movement impartedto either arm I9 or 20, will act to move the base I3 to the left orright respectively, as seen in Fig. 1, and this acts, as will behereinafter described, to release any coins in the receptacle It) to theaccept or reject passageway BI, 82 respectively.

A solenoid 22 is secured to a bracket 23 fixed to the outside of thecasing I8 and the armature 81 of said solenoid is linked to the arm 2!through a pin and slot connection 24, 25 so that energization of thesolenoid acts to turn the base I3 to the reject position.

The arms I9, 20 are coupled through links 23,

'by 3! located at the left hand side (as seen in connected to. asupplymain I and are also in Fig. 3) of the right hand drawer 32. Further,

mechanism 33 at the right hand side of this right hand drawer 32 issimilarly connected to the shaft 30 by a link 84 and lever 34. It willthus be seen that each time the link 29 or 84 is moved downwardly itwill tend to rotate the shaft 30 in a counter-clockwise or clockwisedirection respectively, as viewed in Fig. 1.

As best indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, links 36, 38 (corresponding to 29,84) and levers 31, 39 (corresponding to 28, 34) are provided at the leftand right hand sides of the left hand drawer 32 in the apparatus (asviewed in Fig. 3) said links and levers connecting the shaft 30 withmechanisms 49, 4| (corresponding to 3!, 33) relating to such drawer.

Each drawer 32 includes a tail portion 42 (see Figs. 1 and 2) said tailbeing adapted to slide within guides 43, 44 provided by a bridge piece46 secured to a fixed part of the machine. Each bridge piece provides ahousing for the mechanisms 3|, 33 (or 40, 4|) above referred to. Themechanism 33 (which is the same as 4!) will now be described. H

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 3 and 5, extensions 41 of each bridge46 provide bearings for an axle 6| to which is pivotally secured a bellcrank lever, one of whose arms 48 is pivotally secured to the link 84(or 33 in the case of the mechanisms above designated by 4!), and whoseother arm 49 has pivoted to its lower end a lever 50, said lever 50being biassed by a spring 55 in a counterclockwise direction so that itsleft hand side (see Fig. 1) normally presses down against the upperhorizontal surface of the tail 42. The lever 50 includes a horizontallyextending tongue 52 and a downwardly extending lociing claw 53. Eachbridge 45 also includes an extension 44 (see Figs. 1 and that provides apivotal connection for a second bell crank lever 55, whose horizontalarm includes a pin 56 adapted to engage under the tongue 52 and whosevertical arm normally presses lightly against the armature of a solenoid51, due to the weight of its horizontal arm. The solenoid 5'! is adaptedwhen energized through the totaliser 86 to turn the lever 55 in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. A raised lug 58 is fixedto the tail 42 a short distance to the right of the claw 53, as seeninFig. 1. y

The mechanism 40 (to which 3! is similar) comprises the following (seeparticularly Figs. 2, 3 and 4).

The link 36 above referred to is pivotally connected to a lever 59 onthe said axle 3!. This lever 59 includes an extension 59 that lies inthe path of a pin 85 provided on a bell crank lever 62. The bell cranklever 62 is pivotally secured at 88 to an extension on the bridge '46and its second arm extends downwardly and carries a roller 63 which isadapted to co-opcrate with a raised portion 64 on the tail 42 due to thebiassing action of a spring 83.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, pivotally secured to the casing l8 at65, 65 are two centering bell crank levers whose downwardly extendingarms 61, 68 are connected by a spring 69 so that said levers normallyassume the position indicated in Fig. 2 with their horizontal arms 73,14 bearing against studs Hi, H fixed to the casing. A cross lever 12 issecured to the axle I2 and this also carries studs that bear against thesaid horizontal arms l3, 14. This arrangement constitutes a selfcentering device that acts tohold the'sector-shaped element H in theposition indicated in the drawings. The arms 13,

14 carry links 15, 16 adapted when said arms 13, 74 are depressed by theelement H to rock levers TI, 18 in a counter-clockwise and clockwisedirection respectively as seen in Fig. 2. The lever 18 includes anoverlapping tail [3 adapted to provide a drive from the lever 11 to thelever 18 when the former is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction.

represents linkage which is connected to the totaliser 86 asdiagrammatically indicated in Fig. 6, and when said linkage is moveddownwards, it acts to permit the return of the totaliser to its initialposition as described in the specification above referred to. The movingof the linkage 89 may also be arranged to close the coin slots in thecasing of the apparatus. A wander plug 225 (Fig. 6) is connected tosolenoid 51 and thence to supply main 8 and solenoid 22 is connectedbetween supply mains l and 8. A push button 9 carried by the casing ofthe apparatus and accessible to the operator is connected in series withsolenoid 22.

The apparatus works as follows:

The parts are normally in the positions indicated in the drawings.

If now there is inserted into the apparatus the amount of moneyrequisite to unlock a drawer the following action takes place:

Assuming that coins have been inserted in chutes 4 and/ or 5, then thetotaliser solenoid Hll is energised and this effects partial rotation ofdisc I33. In consequence the solenoid 57 concerned is energized due tothe appropriate displacement of the totaliser, and this acts to turn thelever 55 in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 1). The pin 53 thuslifts the lever 59 and raises its claw 53 clear of the lug 58. Meanwhilethe inserted coinage falls from the chutes l, 2, 3, 4, 5 into thereceptacle [3 where it is detained by the surface 13 of the sector ll.

When the purchaser pulls the drawer 32 concerned to obtain the articlethe raised portion 64 (Fig. 2) strikes the roller 63 and thus the lever62 is turned in a counter-clockwise direction. The pin then strikesagainst the extension 69 and depresses the lever 59 which in turnthrough the linkage 35 and lever 37 (or linkage 29 and lever '28 as thecase may be) rocks the shaft 30 in a clockwise direction as viewed inFig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1 (with reference towhich the shaft 30 isrocked in acounter-clockwise direction), due to the rocking of the shaft 30 thelink 21 is raised which acts through the arm 29 to rock the sector I! sothat its upper surface I3 moves to the left, and thus the coins withinthe receptacle it are deflected by the face [5 to the right into theaccept passageway 8|, whence they pass to the till. Referring to Fig. 2,the rocking of the sector ll (clockwise in that figure) also acts todepress the bell crank lever arm 14, and this through the link 16 movesthe link 89 downwards therebyreturning the totaliser 86 to its initialposition.

The returnof the drawer permits the parts to return to theiroriginalpositions ready for the next actuation.

If an attempt is made to open a drawer when the totaliser 85 has notacted to unlock same i. e., when'a transaction cannot be efieoted thefollowing action takes place.

Referring to Fig. '1, a small movement imparted to the drawer 32 bringsthe lug 58 into contact with the claw 53 and continued motion of thedrawer acts to move the lever 50 horizontally and so turn the arm 48 ina clockwise direction. This through the link 84 and lever 34 rocks theshaft 30 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1.

The claw 53 can only move horizontally until the right hand end of theslot formed by the tongue 52 reaches the pin 56 whereupon the claw 53acts to lock the drawer 32 concerned against further opening movement.It will be seen that the claw 53 constitutes a locking element adaptedto be rendered inoperative by the appropriate displacement of thetotaliser.

The shaft 30 in turn through the lever 35 and link 21 ultimately rocksthe sector l i in a clockwise direction and so releases the coinage fromthe receptacle [0, and it is deflected by the side l4 into the rejectpassageway 82 whence it passes to a delivery orifice (not shown) on theoutside of the apparatus where it may be removed by the purchaser.

Referring to Fig. 2, movement of the sector 1 l also acts in a similarway to that already described, by way of the link 15 and lever 11 topull downwards the link 80, to return the totaliser 86 to its initialposition.

In addition to providing for the return of the coinage when the smallmovement is imparted to the drawer as above described, a push button 9provided on the outside of the machine is adapted when operated by thepurchaser to close the circuit that includes the solenoid 22. It will beseen from Fig. 1 that if said solenoid is energized to pull the armatureto the right as seen in that figure, it will act in a similar way toreturn the coin to the purchaser. It is necessary in that case that thefirst movement of opening the drawer will act to break the circuit tothe solenoid 22 to prevent fraudulent manipulation.

The spring 83 acts to return the solenoid 22 to the position shown inFig. 1 when said solenoid is moved due to the mechanical operation ofthe sector by the drawer mechanism.

The top [3 of the sector (see Fig. '1) is preferably of arcuate shape sothat it may fit closely against the lower end of the receptacle Ill andsaid receptacle may be flared towards the bottom as indicated in Fig. 2.This arrangement prevents jamming of the coins within the hopper.

What I claim is:

l. A coin controlled apparatus comprising manually operable articledelivery mechanism, a locking member normally intercepting said articledelivery mechanism and mounted to permit limited movement thereof by thedelivery mechanism to lock same after slight movement of said deliverymechanism from its initial position, a coin chute structure forreceiving inserted coins, a totaliser, means within the coin chutestructure'which are actuated by the passage of the inserted coinagethrough the said coin chute structure and which displace the totaliserfrom its initial position according to the total value of the coinageinserted, means controlled by the displacement of the totalisercorresponding to a predetermined total value of inserted coinage to movesaid locking member clear of the article delivery mechanism to permit ofits full operation manually, coinage control means for the insertedcoinage, resetting means for returning said totaliser to initialposition,

connecting means actuatable by said article delivery mechanism connectedto said coinage control means and to said resetting means operable uponfull manual operation of said article delivery mechanism to release saidinserted coinage to a till and said totaliser is returned to initialposition, and means connecting said locking member to said coinagecontrol means and to said resetting means to cause the slight movementof the locking member before looking occurs to operate said coinagecontrol means to divert the inserted coinage to outside the apparatusfor return to the purchaser, and operate the resetting means to returnthe totaliser to initial position.

2. A coin controlled apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which themanually operable article delivery mechanism, comprises a reciprocabledrawer.

3. A coin controlled apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and including apivoted first lever linked both to the coinage control and to theresetting means, a second lever pivoted to said first lever andconstituting said locking member, a pivoted third lever controlled fromthe totaliser and engaging said second lever when the third lever is inits normal position to constitute an abutment to lock the second leverand thereby the first lever also after slight movement thereof, thethird lever when displaced turning the second lever to bring it clear ofthe manually operable article delivery mechanism, the first leverremaining undisturbed, displacement of the totaliser corresponding to apredetermined total value of inserted coinage moving the third leverfrom its normal position, and thereby moving the second lever clear ofthe article delivery mechanism to permit of full manual operation of thelatter, while if the said predetermined total value of coinage has notbeen inserted, the third lever will be in its normal position, where itwill constitute an abutment to lock the article delivery mechanism aftera slight movement thereof, and such slight movement of the articledelivery mechanism, if it takes place, will be transmitted to the secondlever and thence to the first lever also, and will thereby betransmitted to the coinage control and resetting means to divert theinserted coinage to outside the apparatus for return to the purchaser,and also to return the totaliser to its initial position.

HENRY JAMES DOLMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,174,754 Mioton Mar. 7, 1916 1,635,451 Zsoldos July 12, 19271,800,546 Larsen et al. Apr. 14, 1931 1,998,602 Anderson Apr. 23, 19352,323,981 Du Grenier et al. July 13, 1943 2,330,186 Jetseck et al Sept.21, 1943 2,333,176 Hoban Nov. 2, 1943 2,354,896 Weiler Aug. 1, 1944FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 676,140 Germany May 26, 1939

